Collapsible box



No'v. 13, 1928. 1,691,152

, E. E. HALE COLLAPSIBLE BOX Filed Aug. 15, 1927 5'/ NvczN-ron PatentedNov. 13, 1928.

Unrrsr g STATES nnwann nvnnn'r'r HALE, or BUFFALO', NEW YORK.

coLLAPsIBLn Box.

Application filed August 15, 1927. Serial No 213,127.

My invention relates to improvements in cardboard boxes and the objectof the invention is to construct a collapsible box of the telescopictype in which the two parts whichV constitute the box and the lid areeach formed from single blanksof material which are suitably cut, sothat they can be readily bent and locked in position to form the boxwhen required.

A further object oit my invention is to so construct my box that it-islocked together at the corners in such a manner that af coin-vparatively rigid construction is obtained which will not readily distortand damage fragile articles such as ilowers which may be placed therein.A further object oi' my invention is to soi'orm my blanks that they areoi rect-angular form, which will thus permit them to be cut :tromsheet-s of material without any waste ot' stock.

My invention consists of a cardboard box constructed and arranged ashereinafter more particularly described and illustrated in t-heaccompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the cut blankfrom which my box is formed.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a frag mentary portion of my box showingtwo oit the adjacent sides partially bent to form one corner.

Fio'. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 2, showing the sides brought togetherto form the corner, the locking tongue therefor being in the` unlockedposition.

Fig. 4 is a similar view to Figs. 2 and 3 showing the box cornerin itsfinal form and the locking tongue in the locked position.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the box i'ormed from the blankillustrated in Fig. 1.

Like characters of reference indicatel cor responding parts in differentviews.

As my box is of the telescopic type, the lower and lid portions are ofcourse'of the saine form, the lid portion being, however, slightlylarger than the lower portion in order that itmay iit thereover, and itwill therefore be only necessary to describe one ol the two portions oithe box.

1 is the bottom of the box which is of rectangular form and bentupwardly along its four edges 2, 3, 4, 5, to iorm the sidewalls '6, 7, 8and 9 as illustrated in Fig. 1.

figure the full lines show where the blank is cut and the dotted lineswhere it is bent.

The blank is of rectangular form and as it includes the rectangularbottom 1 and the In this rectangular sides 6 9, it also includes thesquare corner members 10, which are utiliaedv to formthe corner lockingmeans. Such portions being cut and bent in the following manner:

rThe inner edges ot the members 10 are of course in alignment vwith theedges of the bottom 1, the 'edges 11' and 12 thereof being in alignmentwith the edges 3 and 5 of the bottom and the edges 13 and 14 being inalignment withk the edges 2 and 4 of the bottom." Extending inwardlyalong the line of the edges 11 and 12, I cut slots 15, whicheachterminate in a cross slot 16 which `is provided to prevent anypossibility of such slots tearing when thebox is being formed from theblank. The sides 1.3 and 14 of the mem-V bers 10 are also provided withslots 17 which extend :trom the inner corners of the members outwardlyfor a distance substantially equal to the distance from the inner endsof the slots 15 to the inner corners of the members. Y The cornermembers are also cut diagonally by slots 18 which extend from theirinner to outer corners, and'bending lines 19 are also provided in thecorner members and extend from the ends of the slots 17 to the diagonalcuts 18 and lie substantially parallel to the edges 3 and 5 of thebottom 1. Slots 20 are also furnished at the outer ends ot the slots 17for preventing tearage when the box is being formed. i

My box blanks aredesigned to be shipped to the user in fiat form asillustrated in Fig. 14 and when he desires to use a box itis onlynecessary for him to 'fold a pair ot' bottom and top forming blanks inthe following manner. i The triangular portions`20 and 21 formed by thediagonal cuts 18 in the corner members are first folded upwardly alongthe bending lines 12 and 14, and the side members 6, 7, 8 and 9 are thenfolded upwardly along the bending lines 2, 3, 4 and 5 until the cornerssubstantially assume the form illustrated in Fig. 2, the triangulartongues 22, each bounded by the slots 17, 18 and the bending line 19being bent back upon the respective triangular portions 2O as shown inthis figure. The sides 6 and S are iirst swung into kthe verticalposit-ion, so that the triangular members 21 lie in alignment with andabove the edges 3 and 5 of the bottom. The sioes 7 and 9 are then swungupwardly into the vertical positionand as the slots 17 from which thetongues 22 are bent back are of the same length as the distance from thecorner to the inner ends of the slots 15. ll`he tongue containing benttriangular members 2O will pass through the respeetive slots l5 in themanner illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. When this is done, the tongues 22will be in the position illustrated in the Fig. 3 and to lock thecorners it is only neoes` sary to bend such tongues downwardly into theposition illustrated in Fig. l wherein their free edges 23 formed by theslots 17 will en;

gage the bent edges ll and l2 ot the Corners formed between the sides 6and 8, and the re speotive triangular members 2l.

fragile articles which maybe oontain'edr therein.

What I claim as my invention' is In a corner looking structure forcollapsible boxes, the combination of the bottom and two adjacentsidewalls of integral triangular corner looking members formed upon theends of the sides and bent at right angles thereto and having slotsextending along the lines about which they are bent, one of said slotsextending upwardly from the bottom of the` corner along the bending lineof one triangular oorner looking member, theother slot extendingdownwardly from the top of the corner along the bending line of theother triangular oorner locking member, and a bending line eX- tendingacross the triangular member having the upwardly extending slot from thetop of suoli slot to one of the free edges of suoli member, a tonguemember formed by the slot and said :tree edge in said looking member andadapted to be bent back upon its corner looking `member along thebending line so that it enters the slot in the other corner `lookingmember when the corner is being formed, a means whereby the returning ofthe tongue to its original unbent positiony constitutes a oornerretaining lock.

EDWARD EVERETT HALE. f

